1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-layered ceramic capacitor, and more particularly, to a multi-layered ceramic capacitor having a dual layer-electrode structure formed by applying a dual layer of electrode paste to the multi-layered ceramic capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a multi-layered ceramic capacitor (MLCC) has a structure in which internal electrodes are inserted between a plurality of dielectric layers. The multi-layered ceramic capacitor has been widely used as a component of various electronic devices due to advantages such as the compact size, high capacitance and easy mounting thereof, and particularly, the multi-layered ceramic capacitor has been actively used as a decoupling capacitor connected between a semiconductor chip and a power supply in a power supply circuit in a large scale integrated circuit (LSI), and the like.
External electrodes are formed on the multi-layered ceramic capacitor by applying two layers of conductive paste to outer portions of a ceramic sintering body in order to electrically connect the internal electrodes in the ceramic sintering body to an external circuit.
The external electrodes serve to protect the internal electrodes to keep aspects of a surrounding environment, such as humidity or plating solution, from having an effect on the reliability thereof, while simultaneously providing an electrical connection between the internal and external electrodes.
Meanwhile, in accordance with the development of various related technologies, the capacitance of the multi-layered ceramic capacitor has been gradually increased, and a ratio occupied by the internal electrodes in the ceramic sintering body has been correspondingly gradually increased, such that an increase in contact between the internal and external electrodes and the protection of the internal electrodes from the external environment have become ever more important. Therefore, a need exists for a multi-layered ceramic capacitor including external electrodes having excellent density, while having excellent contact between external and internal electrodes.